GL-X, a division of Grand Large Inc., has taken on exclusive U.S. commercial representation for director Jonas Elrod who recently helmed three Febreze Air Effects spots for Grey. Elrod began his career at Rockhard Films where he worked as a director, producer and editor. Elrod's filmography also includes the documentary Wake Up, which was the premier film on the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) series Super Soul Sunday….Minneapolis-based design/post house Splice Here— has brought 3D animator Andrew Lefton into the company fold. He most recently served as a lead 3D/post artist at the Design Center in St. Paul. Prior to that, he was lead animator/creative partner/owner of Eight Point Productions in Minneapolis….San Francisco-based agency Eleven Inc. has hired Anastacia Maggioncalda in the new company role of executive producer. She comes over from Eveo, San Francisco, where she was VP, managing director. Maggioncalda will be in charge of all filmic production at Eleven. The agency recently expanded their broadcast studio capabilities with a new team of editors, electronic artists and sound engineers, and built out a new in-house video production and postproduction studio. Maggioncalda will oversee all in-house production, as well as external collaborations including hiring outside production companies, directors and animators….
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More